"Let's talk outside, kid."
Suguru Geto curled in four fingers and pointed his thumb outside.
Dai Li glanced at the Sawada couple in the backyard out of the corner of his eye.
"We'll fight on the mountain behind here. And stop calling me that with your fake friendly act, you phony monk."
"I have a name. Dai is my surname, Li is my given name."
"You're hardly showing anyone respect yourself. Those monkeys call me Buddha, you know."
"Once I beat that twisted face of yours into a pig's head, nobody will mistake you for him again."
Dai Li had already started trash-talking.
But Suguru Geto wasn't angry in the slightest. He still watched Dai Li with amusement. He had met plenty of people who showed no respect for their elders. The most arrogant of them could already disregard the rules governing jujutsu sorcerers entirely.
That man's arrogance came from his absolute strength. What about this boy?
Judging by the cursed energy leaking out of him, his reserves were tiny-so tiny that Suguru Geto almost pitied him. Someone like this was actually going to face a Special Grade Sorcerer. How cruel.
He didn't have a muscular build, either, so he wasn't the close-combat type. Besides, his meager cursed energy would barely be enough to reinforce his body.
Then the answer had to lie in his cursed technique.
He has no combat experience, either. But if he suddenly has the confidence to face me one-on-one, his technique must be capable of providing tremendous fighting power even when the sorcerer himself is weak.
A shikigami? Most likely. But what sort of shikigami is powerful in its own right without requiring vast amounts of cursed energy to maintain...?!
In that instant, Suguru Geto seemed to realize something. There was one answer, and only one, that fit all his conjectures-
Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga.
If he plans to take me down with him by dragging me into Mahoraga's taming ritual, I'm not sure I can defeat Mahoraga.
After all, that shikigami has a technique that lets it "adapt" to anything. It's the Zenin Clan's trump card.
But Dai Li couldn't possibly possess the Ten Shadows Technique.
The Zenin Clan would never allow a jujutsu sorcerer with the Ten Shadows Technique to wander outside the clan. Those of the main family's bloodline would be summoned back when their techniques were about to awaken. Only after their techniques were identified would the clan decide whether they stayed or left.
Those who were cast aside generally possessed inferior techniques, while bloodlines that had strayed outside had no chance of awakening the Ten Shadows Technique.
I don't know where he gets the confidence to fight me, but I have no reason to fear a weak jujutsu sorcerer.
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
Suguru Geto displayed his technique right in front of Dai Li, summoning an enormous bird-like cursed spirit and throwing Dai Li into a panic.
I haven't even figured out what binding vow to make with Life and Binding or what loan to take out, and he's already going to attack?!
Damn it, if I'm going to do this, it has to be now...
"Don't panic. I'm not planning to attack you yet. There's no need, either."
"Get on. Walking there would take you quite a while, wouldn't it? Both our time should be valuable, so let's not waste it. Mimiko and Nanako are still waiting for me to take them out for crepes."
After hearing Suguru Geto's explanation, Dai Li understood the situation. Once he realized the man wasn't planning to play dirty, he pushed off with both feet and jumped aboard. He wasn't a child who would sulk out of spite, so he didn't make a fuss. Still, he remained silent, seemingly pondering something, his expression somewhat grim.
Anyone with cursed energy who looked up would have seen a bird-like cursed spirit soaring through the clear blue sky. A closer look would have revealed two people on its back.
The one standing was a tall man wearing a kimono and a Buddhist robe. The one sitting was a boy in a white T-shirt and cargo pants. His clothes were rather dated, hardly an outfit a boy his age would wear out.
"What's the deal with that undeveloped special grade cursed spirit on Mr. Sawada?"
Dai Li had been lost in thought during the flight, but now he suddenly spoke.
"The special grade cursed spirit Double-Pupiled General. That's what I call him."
Suguru Geto didn't mind chatting on the way.
"His strength hasn't fully developed yet, but he'll soon be one of my major assets in battle. If you're trying to get information on special grade cursed spirits, don't bother. You probably won't get to see him or any of the others."
"I checked on him at the door earlier. I hope the cursed aura of a special grade cursed spirit didn't frighten you."
"Hmph."
Fine. I'll pay you back for all this irritation in a moment, you bastard with that hollow smile.
The bird-like cursed spirit flew swiftly, reaching the mountain in roughly six or seven minutes.
The mountain was low, standing around four hundred meters above sea level, but its slopes were so steep that no one could possibly climb up.
"Will this place do?"
Suguru Geto jumped down, his wooden sandals landing with a clack.
"Yeah, it's fine."
Dai Li also climbed off the cursed spirit. This would be the battlefield for the first fight of his life.
"Shall we begin, then?"
"Wait."
Dai Li needed a little time. He sat down on the spot and closed his eyes.
System, let me confirm one last time. The binding vows made through my technique won't conflict with ordinary binding vows, right?
[Confirmed. Binding vows not made through your cursed technique will take effect normally. They will not receive your technique's enhancement, nor will they consume cursed energy.]
Good. With your confirmation, I can relax. With this combo, I'll show you I can kill even a Special Grade Sorcerer!
Dai Li made a binding vow. First, he reduced his technique's fifty-percent enhancement effect by twenty percent for a set period in exchange for reducing the cursed energy cost of his next activation to zero.
The binding vow was successfully established! It complied with the principle of equivalent exchange.
Life and Binding activated. Dai Li chose to permanently lose the ability to increase his cursed energy naturally in exchange for a massive increase in his reserves, completely closing off the possibility of his cursed energy continuing to grow naturally as a jujutsu sorcerer.
[Cursed energy reserves greatly increased.]
The massive increase in cursed energy at 130% effectiveness caused Dai Li's cursed aura to surge abruptly. It was like swallowing a pill in a cultivation novel that instantly took someone from the first level of Qi Refining to late-stage Foundation Establishment.
This would have been impossible without Dai Li's Life and Binding technique. Although binding vows in the world of jujutsu followed equivalent exchange, an ordinary binding vow theoretically couldn't accomplish such a thing.
Dai Li could establish binding vows and add cursed energy to the exchange to obtain astonishingly large returns. But a binding vow of this magnitude came at an exorbitant cost. If he hadn't first used an ordinary binding vow to reduce the cursed energy cost of his next technique activation to zero, he could never have afforded it.
He could exploit this loophole only once. His technique was essentially a battle of wits against heaven itself. Once he succeeded this time, a binding vow like this would no longer work again.
It doesn't matter if my cursed energy can't grow naturally. I get all my cursed energy through loans anyway! System, show my status panel.
Dai Li issued the silent command after his cursed energy finished surging.
[Name: Dai Li] [Overall jujutsu sorcerer strength: Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer] [Total cursed energy reserves: Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer level] [Overall physical ability: Ordinary person] [Cursed technique: Life and Binding]
Why am I still a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer? My cursed energy is already Grade 1. Without that thirty-percent enhancement, I should be Semi-Grade 1, right?
[Jujutsu sorcerer grades are assessed based on your overall combat strength. At present, you merely possess large cursed energy reserves, but lack the ability to control them. You cannot reinforce yourself with cursed energy, and your combat experience and physical fitness are average.]
Fine, then I'll make another binding vow.
The plan Dai Li had conceived a few minutes earlier was coming together step by step.
Suguru Geto had long since noticed something unusual about Dai Li. His cursed aura had suddenly surged, but his cursed energy was also dissipating involuntarily.
That meant his technique had granted him enormous cursed energy reserves, but Dai Li himself was utterly inept at controlling them.
Yet Suguru Geto simply watched Dai Li's "performance" in silence.
His half-lidded eyes and practiced, artificial smile made his expression utterly unreadable.
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